A woman seeks the revenge that was her birthright in this action thriller from Japan. A gang of ruthless thieves break into the home of a rural couple, and after taking their valuables, they murder the husband and rape the wife once… MoreA woman seeks the revenge that was her birthright in this action thriller from Japan. A gang of ruthless thieves break into the home of a rural couple, and after taking their valuables, they murder the husband and rape the wife once they've beaten her senseless. When the ravaged wife tracks down one of the thieves and attacks him, she is arrested by police; she was left pregnant by the rape, and gives birth to a daughter months later, dying shortly after delivery. The daughter, Yuki (Meiko Kaji), is raised by a priest who teaches her how to use a sword and trains her to show no mercy to the men who brutalized her family. When she turns 20, Yuki sets out to seek revenge, looking beautiful and tranquil on the outside but possessing a powerful taste for vengeance against those who wronged her and her mother. Lady Snowblood was written by Kazuo Koike, who also scripted several of the most memorable films in the Lone Wolf and Cub series. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

When a gang of confidence tricksters murder a schoolteacher and rape his wife she plots bloody vengeance against them, but when she is imprisoned for life she… MoreWhen a gang of confidence tricksters murder a schoolteacher and rape his wife she plots bloody vengeance against them, but when she is imprisoned for life she passes the task onto her newborn daughter. There's no way around saying it; this IS Kill Bill. A cold blooded but beautiful assassin who hunts down her enemies one by one, each assigned their own headed chapter of the story with blood and violence contrasted with tranquil scenes of falling snow...? There's even a section where a flashback is told through manga comic art. Quentin, you ought to be ashamed of yourself! This attractively shot film actually has a strong element of Spaghetti western about it despite the katanas and blood spurts because of the theme of lone stranger cutting down their enemies to exaggerated sound effects and a deeply 70s soundtrack, and the combination works well. There are some very attractive images and nicely framed shots and Meiko Kaji is arresting as the steely beauty. Plot is a little thinner on the ground however and there is little emotional involvement as the main character is SO single minded, but its influence over more contemporary films has kept it feeling relatively fresh and it's a landmark hack and slasher for those interested in the genre.

Anthony Lawrie

Wow, I hadn't realised quite how much of this film QT actually ripped off! Lady Snowblood is certainly one of the more intelligent films of it genres,… MoreWow, I hadn't realised quite how much of this film QT actually ripped off! Lady Snowblood is certainly one of the more intelligent films of it genres, Meiko Kaji kicks arse as does the soundtrack, fight sequences and overall beauty of this film.

David Ladd

Whatever you think of Tarantino's Kill Bill, its success meant that some of the little known(in the west at least) films that inspired that film have had… MoreWhatever you think of Tarantino's Kill Bill, its success meant that some of the little known(in the west at least) films that inspired that film have had some dvd releases, and Lady Snowblood is among the best of them. The films plot is fairly simple. a woman gives birth in prison and dies. Before she passes away she tells the other locked-up women that her daughter has only one reason in life: revenge. We then find out what has happened to cause this situation. the woman's husband was murdered and she was beaten and raped by a group of five. After managing to kill one of this gang herself, she was sent to prison. In the prison she whores herself out to any man available so that eventually ends up pregnant with the aim that the child will revenge her dead husband and her own sad demise. The film follows this daughters training and eventual attempt to revenge her parents.Of course, it all gets a bit messy.
For such an old film Lady Snowblood doesn't seem very old fashioned. It's a tale of revenge which is very bloody chopped limbs and gushes of blood and if the story seems tired, it's actually told in a fairly original way. Told in chapters (like Kill Bill) these story moves at a slow pace but you know each small part will have its own climax so theres never to long to
wait before a new development. The film also incorporates an extended scene where the story is told via illustrations (the story is based on a bestselling manga, and this is a technique which is also "borrowed" by Kill Bill, albeit in an animated style) and its with this mixture of
storytelling techniques that the film seems quicker and more lively than it actually is. Which is of course a good thing. The lovely Kaji Meiko plays Yuki, otherwise known as Lady Snowblood, otherwise known as the crazy bitch out for revenge. For the most part Yuki's un-expressive face manages to reflect all kinds of anger as well as a real sadness. Watching her facial expressions really translates this sense of untrust. The film looks amazing, contrasting all sorts of wide camera shots with close-ups, incorporating the landscape as well as close-ups of faces and with the added use of the weather (she isn?t called Snowblood for nothing), Lady Snowblood pulls you into its narrative.
Again, Tarantino nicked some of the framing ideas and compositions of shots, and you can hardly blame him because they're so effective. For an example of this, simply see the scene
where the group are looking down on Yuki's mother - laughing and smirking at her - and you get a sense of the way this film works on a back to basics level. Lady Snowblood seems to reduce themes, character and camera shots to a primitive level, it's only flourishes are the way the story is told. The action is also handled very well, swords swing leaving gushing blood and all sorts of detached limbs, while maintaining an ironic beauty. Blood on snow (like her name) is quite beautiful, but disturbing. Despite its b-movie plot, this is a film which is full of style.
Lady Snowblood Blizzard From The Netherworld is an excellent revenge-flick and all-too an obvious influence on some contemporary cinema. Its not the most subtle film, but it has a huge amount of character and is still a step above the average hack-and-slash revenge story. Its one of those films that surprises you at how good it is and almost begs for a repeat viewing. If this review seems to compare the film to Kill Bill too much, then watch this film and you'll see why Lady Snowblood is superior in many ways.

Ken Stachnik

Really well done revenge flick that was a major inspiration for the Kill Bill films.
Interesting film grammar and stage theatric elevate this genre gem above… MoreReally well done revenge flick that was a major inspiration for the Kill Bill films.
Interesting film grammar and stage theatric elevate this genre gem above it's contemporaries

Cassandra Maples

By now, I am sure you know Quentin Tarantino lifted the theme and structure of both Lady Snowblood: Blizzard from the Netherworld and its sequel, Love Song of… MoreBy now, I am sure you know Quentin Tarantino lifted the theme and structure of both Lady Snowblood: Blizzard from the Netherworld and its sequel, Love Song of Vengeance, to formulate his OK-in-retrospect-but-overlong-and-self-indulgent Kill Bill movies. Watching this movie you realise quite how much he appropriated; from the chapter-based structure, to a young woman set on revenge, having trained for years to be able to take revenge, a list of people to kill, swordfights in the snow‚¶ You may also be aware of an eighties Japanese-American remake, The Princess Blade. It is also the movie that Park-Chan Wook's much-hyped Sympathy for Lady Vengeance wanted to be. Well, frankly, you can ignore all of these with impunity, because Lady Snowblood is nothing short of a masterpiece. Let us say this: it is right up there with the best two or three samurai films I have got see, and the best movie I have personally seen in a couple of years.
Synopsis
Bear with me, this shall take a while. It is around 1874, in Japan's Meiji era, a time when, for the first time in centuries, Japan was open to new ideas from the west. Trade is blooming, and the feudal system is coming to an end with a burgeoning middle class. The gap between rich and poor, however, is growing by the day.
In a woman's prison, a baby girl, Yuki, is born. Her mother dies almost straight after, though not before entrusting the girl to one of her cellmates, and entreating her to raise the girl for one single purpose: vengeance. The year previously, the mother had moved with her husband, a primary school teacher, and her son to a new post in the village of Koichi , whereupon the two males were murdered on suspicion of being government spies. At least, that was the pretext: the actual reason was that a gang of criminals were running a scam and did not want to get found out. The mother was kept alive, but only to be abused and raped by her husband's killers. Jailed after murdering her captor, Yuki's mother allowed herself to be impregnated so that the girl could seek revenge on the gang. Yuki's childhood is a tough one. Raised by a Buddhist priest who trains her in the art of combat, all emotion is eliminated from her so that she has the cold heart of a killer. On her twentieth birthday, Shurayuki, as she is now known, leaves and searches for the three surviving killers.
It is a difficult search. There is a lot of early expositional scenes where we see Shurayuki take on her Lady Snowblood persona, a strong woman whose swordsmanship (and brutality) is second to none and who can take on many men at a time and win. Desperate to gain information, she is forced to play a political game by doing favours for people who might have information for her ‚" it is why right at the start of the film we see her killing a gang boss. Eventually she finds Lord Matsuemon, who, grateful that the boss is now off his back, willingly tells her the location of the first killer. And thus the final part of her quest begins.
Now do not think for a second that the summary of the early part of the film I have given above is explained in anything like the clarity and linearity that I just have. In its initial phases, the timeline of the film jumps around so much there is the shocker of having to work out that you are watching a flashback within a flashback, and it is massively hard to keep up. I can understand why the film is structured as it is, to establish the Lady Snowblood persona right at the start without any desire to show the complicated backstory, but it really does need serious brainwork to try to make sense of the first phase of the movie. That said, by establishing what Lady Snowblood is in the first six minutes of the film you are so instantly sucked in that you are quite prepared to put in the extra work because, quite simply, you want to experience more of this fabulous character.
The raison d'etre, if you like, of Shurayuki is that she looks angelic and sexy but inside hides the cold heart of a killer. There is no judgement in the film of her; in many ways she is as bad as her father's executioners. But nevertheless our sympathies lie with this unfathomably unsympathetic character. Meiko Kaji is superb as the emotionless Lady Snowblood, completely driven, completely ruthless. Shurayuki does not let people get close to her ‚" even her guardians, the closest thing to family she is got ‚" and you get the feeling she has great difficulty relating to people, which is hardly surprising given her upbringing. And it is this distance which is seemingly effortlessly conveyed by Kaji ‚" a fantastic performance. And the visuals‚¶ Lady Snowblood is a feast to the eyes. Somehow the grainy 70s film stock and pinkish tint totally works in this context; it gives an ancient, nearly other-worldly feel to the piece. And if the content is poetic, then this is more than amply backed up by the direction: kinetic when there is a need, serene when necessary. Director Toshiya Fujita also uses on numerous occasions still image montages, either stop-motion live action, or ink illustrations, or even straightforward stills. Japan has seldom looked this good; the cinematography is just as accomplished as a movie like Onibaba ‚" not bad for a film which is often dismissed as a mere exploitation flick.
Be warned though, because it is not without its flaws. The plot, initially, is as convoluted as you can imagine, and without the comprehensive (and excellent) sleevenotes on the Animeigo DVD as well as extra explanatory subtitles, it would be easy to get very, very lost. But, like any great Shakespearean tragedy, the more you put in at the start, the more you aree going to get out. There is also fairly fundamental pacing problems in the middle phase of the movie, as well as an at times jarring soundtrack which, criminally, sucks you out of 19th century Japan and which places you squarely into 1970s Hollywood. I found myself cursing the movie at some points, yet it was a criticism that was short-lived; the pacing picked up, the jazz-funk soundtrack vanished and the majesty of the previous sections of the film returned.
Amusing, gory and visually stunning, Lady Snowblood is, quite simply, a must-see movie. It is nearly a definition of a perfect film; strong visuals combine with a resonant plot and fast-paced action sequences and an impeccable performance from Meiko Kaji. You owe it to yourself to see this film.

Stella Dallas

stylish and gory and i might have enjoyed it alot more if i'd never seen kill bill...so thx quentin, for ruining it for me :(

One of Tarantino's inspirations for Kill Bill, film is exciting and very cinematic.

Keiko Aya

Films like I Spit on your Grave don't even come close to these revenge flicks made here.
What can i say? Great acting (Or even BETTER!) cool action… MoreFilms like I Spit on your Grave don't even come close to these revenge flicks made here.
What can i say? Great acting (Or even BETTER!) cool action story with pleanty of gore and violence. Fucking awesome soundtrack.
Nice costumes and themes...ECT. Though i liked the second more.

Tsubaki Sanjuro

Kazuo Koike's theory is right, great characters make the stories write by themselves. Add someone with great screen charisma like Meiko Kaji and you have a… MoreKazuo Koike's theory is right, great characters make the stories write by themselves. Add someone with great screen charisma like Meiko Kaji and you have a winner.

Dean McKenna

I see this Japanese samurai movie that inspired Quentin Tarantino's <i>Kill Bill</i>. This is the best and most savage samurai of a femme… MoreI see this Japanese samurai movie that inspired Quentin Tarantino's <i>Kill Bill</i>. This is the best and most savage samurai of a femme fatale I ever saw.

Marion Ravenwood

Really Damn cool. Tarantino basically stole everything from this film put Uma Thurman in it and called it Kill Bill.